Ten Years
by dancebabe4526
Summary: Ten years has been a long time to wait. And now Draco is out of prison. What will happen? HGDM, follows HPB.


Ten years is a long time to wait. Especially when the one who is waiting is stuck in a 4x4 meter cell, with only a small barred window and the screams of other prisoners for company. Draco Malfoy wasn't exactly sure how he had kept his head straight. Sometimes he had felt like screaming with the others, but didn't. The only thought that kept him going was that he was innocent. They had charged him as guilty for killing Dumbledore, and the Longbottom boy, but he had not.

Snape had killed Dumbledore and Bellatrix had finished off Neville. But as Snape had been killed by Voldemort for killing Lucious, and Bellatrix had been killed by Loony Lovegood (who would have thought) there was no one who would believe him, well, except Potter.

According to the wonderboy, he knew that Snape had killed Dumbledore. He had come to Draco's cell, and told him how Harry had watched, invisible, and magically bound, as Draco had begun to lower his wand and Snape had appeared, and well, the rest was history. And apparently Potter had also seen Draco's aunt kill Neville too, but had been to busy to run over and help. So why was Draco still in jail? He could have been out years ago, if only-

Potter had blamed Draco for Hermione's death.

Ahh, but he did. He wanted Draco to take the blame, and tell him where her body was. But Draco refused. He hadn't killed Granger, in fact didn't really see her die, just fall, as if time had stopped long enough for everyone to see her go down, deeper and deeper. Into that abyss.

He spent ten years in this damn cell, in this **hell**, because when they finally reached the bottom she hadn't been there.

Draco smirked. Ten years had been a long time. But now, now he was free.

"Miss Himley!!!"

A pretty girl with blonde curly hair and honey brown eyes snapped her head around and smiled as the stiff older man came up and shoved a stack of folders into her arms.

"Here are the prisoners being released today. They all need the standard psych exam, and make sure your chocolate stack is high enough, you have quite a few dementors coming through."

"My chocolate stack is perfect, I restocked this morning. And don't kid with me Jake, I always finish on time, you don't have to act so high and mighty today," the girl smiled at him, and walked away. Jake scratched his head as he watched Alice Himley walk towards the first interview room. There was something different about her, as if she had a secret. A secret so buried within her, it would take a crowbar to pry it out.

Jake was right. The young psychiatrist known as Alice Himley did have a secret. And if it ever got out, this life she was living would be gone, and she would be swept back into the world she had escaped from. Before the accident, she had been Hermione Granger, best friend of the boy who lived, one of the golden trio. But after the fall, she couldn't go back. It had been so easy for her to change. It just took a simple hair dye. That was all.

The door to Draco's cell opened. Light streamed into the cell and landed on Draco. His hair had grown to his shoulders, and a hair had started to grow on his chin. He had been shaving before, but soon before he was released he had stopped, realizing that when he got out everything would be, uhm, slightly back to normal. The money would be returned. And that was at least a bit of normalcy.

"Mr. Malfoy, you are to be released today. Your clothing and other personal belongings will be given back to you before you go. But first, you have to meet with the psychiatrist, to make sure that everything is, er, intact."

Malfoy waved the request away, "Whatever it takes."

Hermione entered the first interview room, and waited for the first prisoner to enter. She had been doing this for the past nine years. The routine was fixed in her brain. The prisoner would come in, sit down, she would introduce herself as Alice, they would talk, she would ask routine questions, and finally if she felt they were ready for the world again, she would sign the release papers in the final slot. If not, well, the poor bastards would go back in front of the committee and have their case reviewed. Today was supposed to be a fast day. She was going to zip through these cases, and meet with a few coworkers for some drinks. The new guy Tim had been looking at her. Maybe she might get something for the effort tonight.

But of course, fate had some other plans. It never seemed as kind as she wished.

The first patient walked in. That platinum blond hair, and those sharp grey eyes; there was no doubt in her mind of who it was.

Draco Malfoy looked into the face of the psychiatrist. His mouth flew open. A spark came back into his eye.

"Well, Hermione. We meet again."

**Well, that's the first chapter!! I hope it's well liked. I didn't want to start off in 7****th**** year, not so close to JK's release of book 7. **


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